Mark 3:7-19 | “Are You Around Jesus or With Jesus?”

Created for Community

One of the shows Suzy and I like to watch is Shark Tank.  The creativity of people amazes me and reminds me that we’re made in the image of a creative God.  Suzy, I think, likes it because she’s creative and inventive.  She keeps a notebook of possible inventions.  I love her ability to envision things that (probably) no one has thought of before.  I want her to remember us little people when she invents something awesome and is a host on Shark Tank one day!

In one episode, I was struck by the stories of two ladies who’d started their own businesses, not to change the world, but just because they wanted to do something to help people.  Each lady talked about how surprisingly blessed they were when they started to realize that their products were actually helping people.  It was an emotional moment for them as they reflected on the impact they were having on people.   

What is it about us that provokes emotion when we realize we’re making a difference and helping people?  Why are we moved to tears when we find out that we were a blessing in someone else’s life?  I think it’s because, in that moment, we’re realizing one of the purposes for which God made us.  God created us to be concerned about the good of other people.  We were created to have an impact on others because we were created for community. 

Sin Makes Us Want Community Out of Selfishness

Unfortunately, because of sin, we often are only looking for what people can do for us rather than what we can do for them.  We use people for our benefit, seeing them as a means to our end or a pawn on the chessboard of our lives.  Sin makes us want community out of selfishness.  Thankfully, God isn’t like us.  God wants relationship with his people simply because he loves them.  He wants to be with his people because he wants to be with his people. 

Questions for us to consider this morning are: how have we responded to God’s selfless love?  Do we want community with God because we want stuff from God?  Or do we want community with God because we want God?  Do we want to be around Jesus or with Jesus? 

The text we’ll be studying this morning in the Gospel of Mark shows us that lots of people were around Jesus, but a only a few were truly with him.  We’ll see great crowds come to Jesus in order to get something from him.  And we’ll see Jesus call a select few to be in community with him. 

In Mark 3:7-12, Jesus is crushed by the crowd and, in 3:13-19, Jesus creates his community.  As we study these Scriptures this morning, have this question in front of you: Am I around Jesus or with Jesus?

Jesus Crushed by the Crowd

First, in Mark 3:7-12, Jesus is crushed by the crowd.  Jesus’ early ministry around the Sea of Galilee met increasing opposition from the religious leaders, as we’ve seen the last few weeks.  But Mark is careful to point out that public opinion about Jesus was overwhelmingly positive.  People flocked to him.  News of his teaching and miracles spread like wildfire.  The opinion of the religious leaders was the minority report. 

People came from all over the place to see Jesus.  The places listed in verses 7-8 cover a wide territory.  Idumea was 120 miles due south.  Tyre and Sidon were fifty miles away and beyond Israel’s borders.  The people there, and the people from Idumea and from “beyond the Jordan” were mostly Gentile people.  Jesus’ fame spread across ethnic lines.  People from all backgrounds were drawn to this magnetic figure on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee. 

Jesus was trying to “withdraw” from the people (v .7), probably because of the murderous intentions of the Pharisees (v. 6), but he simply couldn’t outrun the crowds.  This was probably the biggest and most diverse crowd Jesus had faced so far in his ministry.  It was an incredible opportunity for him to minster to needy people.  But it also created an impediment for his ministry, similar to what happened when he was at Peter’s house in Capernaum (2:2).  The crowds actually hindered him from fulfilling his main ministry of preaching the kingdom of God.  This is why he’d retreated from Capernaum previously (1:35-39).  In Jesus’ mind, bigger didn’t mean better.

The stereotypes we have in our minds of Jesus sitting calmly under a shade tree with children in his lap and little lambs grazing around him simply doesn’t fit Mark’s description of Jesus’ ministry.  There were so many people around him that he told his disciples to get a boat ready for him in case he needed to make an emergency exit (v. 9). 

The language in verses 9-10 paints a frightening scene.  Jesus was in danger of being “crushed” by the crowd (v. 9) and people were “pressing around him to touch him” (v. 10).  The word for “crush” can also mean “pressing forward” or “falling upon.”  Mark is describing a mob-like horde of people pressing in on Jesus.  It’s similar to what happens when a famous person arrives somewhere and is surrounded by fans and photographers.  It was like Jesus was being harassed by the paparazzi.  Everywhere he turned, people were “falling upon” him. 

The reason why Jesus was being pressed so hard by the crowd is what’s important for us to notice, and is the point Mark is trying to make.  Verse 10 says that the crowd was pressing him because “he had healed many, so that all who had diseases pressed around him.”  The New Living Translation says it this way, “There had been many healings that day.  As a result, many sick people were crowding around him.” 

Why did this crowd come to Jesus?  Because they wanted something from him.  People thought that even a touch from Jesus would heal them (v. 10).  Indeed it could, as we’ll see later in Mark (5:25-34).  But Mark’s point is that the crowds were interested in getting something from Jesus rather than listening to and following Jesus.  They wanted relief from their pain and suffering.  They cared more for their bodies than their souls.

The Soul Is More Important Than the Body

We’re more like this crowd than we’d like to admit.  Our prayer requests tend to focus on our physical problems, not our spiritual problems.  It’s okay and good to pray for physical things.  God made us physical creatures.  God made our bodies, so it’s good to be concerned for our bodies.  But we’re a body and a soul.  Jesus actually made our souls the top priority in his value system when he said, “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?  What can man give in return for his soul?” (8:36-37) Our souls are more important than our bodies.  We should therefore pray for the well-being of our souls as much and more than the well-being of our bodies.  We should take care of our souls as much or more than we take care of our bodies. 

Think about how much effort our culture puts into looking and feeling good.  I think that it’s okay to look and feel good by the way – God cares about our bodies, so we should too.  But our culture puts a premium on the care of the body and barely thinks about the care of the soul.  Ask yourself, how much did you spend last year to care for your body compared to how much you spent to care for your soul?  We need things like doctors and healthcare and gyms and healthy food.  But we also need the Word of God, prayer, the local church, and times of rest and retreat.

These “great crowds” were “pressing around” Jesus to get something from him, rather than simply be with him.  They almost crushed him because they wanted to be cured by him.  They were more interested in what he could do than in who he was.  They wanted Jesus for his gifts, not for his grace.

Jesus Is Sovereign over Evil

Mark points out in verse 11 that, though the crowds were “falling upon” Jesus, the evil spirits were “falling before” him.  The demons knew who Jesus was and responded appropriately.  James, the half-brother of Jesus, says later, “You believe that God is one; you do well.  Even the demons believe – and shudder!” (James 2:19) Demons have a greater fear of God than most of us.  They know who Christ is.  They know that his authority and sovereignty is total.  They don’t love and trust him, but they do fear him.

Jesus again tells them to not do any evangelism on his behalf (v. 12).  Jesus will determine the when and where and the who of his self-revelation.  So Jesus commands them to silence.  One theologian points out how this scene foreshadows the final conflict between Jesus and the forces of hell.  He says, “Whenever hell collides with heaven, the inevitable result is silence.  Whenever evil appears before God, its mouth is shut.  Scripture tells us repeatedly that people appearing before God at the last judgment will place their hands over their mouths in His presence and will keep silent.  No sinner has anything to say in the presence of the holy God.” 

Scripture makes it clear that God is unapproachable in his holiness, so that no sinner can even enter his presence without being consumed, much less go in to argue their case and defend their rights.  The holiness of God should leave us speechless and make us tremble.

But Scripture also makes it clear that God is merciful toward sinners, that he sent his Son Jesus to die on the cross to absorb the judgment that our sin deserves so that our sins can be forgiven and we can have the righteousness of Christ given to us.  The mercy of God is for all who turn away from themselves and put their trust in Jesus.  The mercy of God should fill us with praise and make us humble.

Jesus Creates His Community

We’ve seen Jesus swarmed by great crowds in verses 7-12.  Next in verses 13-19, we see Jesus create his community.  Jesus was surrounded by crowds but only called a few to be with him.

In verses 13-15, Jesus calls, creates, and commissions his apostles.  Jesus “called to him those whom he desired” (v. 13).  Who did Jesus call?  The ones he wanted.  Jesus is not doing what the Rabbis of that day did.  When someone wanted to study with a particular rabbi, they’d fill out the application and pursue a course of study with the rabbi of their choosing.  The Rabbis didn’t call disciples, but were chosen by their disciples, like a student today chooses what college to attend.  Jesus, however, recruited his students.  His students didn’t recruit him. 

The language here is actually a little stronger than just “call.”  The Greek is more emphatic: Jesus summoned those whom he willed.  Jesus sovereignly determined who’d be with him and summoned them into his presence.  These disciples didn’t decide to follow Jesus in order to help him out or because he was so popular.  Jesus decided that they should follow him and ordered or summoned them to himself.  Jesus’ call superseded their wills.  They came because of Jesus’ will, not their own.

God’s Effectual Call

This is a microcosm of how Jesus calls any of us, of how any of us become Christians.  The outward call of the gospel goes out but not everyone accepts it.  Only when it’s accompanied by the inward call of the Holy Spirit does the word of the gospel create the faith and repentance that it demands, leading sinners to willingly and joyfully come to Christ.  God calls his people to Jesus and all who he calls come to him.  Why are you a Christian?  Because God called you.   

The church is the assembly of the “called out ones.”  Ekklesia means “those who are the called out ones.”  The true church is made up of all those who’ve been effectually and sovereignly called out of the world, out of sin and death, and into Christ.  Jesus’ followers are in the church because Jesus called them into the church, not because the church reflects their sensibilities or aligns with their preferences or shares their political views. 

Jesus calls people to himself who have nothing in common except that they’ve been sovereignly summoned into his community.  What else other than the sovereign call of God explains the diversity of the church?  Only God’s voice is powerful enough to assemble a people from among all the different kind of peoples in the world.

Called Into Community

When Jesus calls someone, like he does here, he always calls them into a group.  Yes, it’s only by our individual faith that we’ll be saved.  No one is saved through their parent’s faith, spouse’s faith, or friend’s faith.  On judgment day, we’ll stand before God alone and give an account of what’s in our heart, not anyone else’s.

But Christ always calls people and then places them in a group.  We were created for community and called into community.  There’s a corporate, or shared and communal, aspect to following Jesus (Acts 2:42-47).  God intends his people to learn together, grow together, serve together, and worship together. 

The New Testament knows nothing of churchless Christianity.  Being a follower of Jesus in the New Testament meant being in accountable and committed relationships with other followers of Jesus.  We don’t think every follower of Jesus should join our church, but we do think that every follower of Jesus should join a gospel preaching church.  In the calling of these twelve apostles, we see the embryo of the church: Jesus calls people to himself and places them in a group. 

Created Into the Church

Jesus calls his people and creates his people.  The word for “appoint” in verse 14 can also mean “to make or create.”  It’s the same word used in the Greek Old Testament in Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”  God didn’t appoint the heavens and earth.  He made them.  In the same way, Jesus didn’t merely appoint twelve men to a specific task.  He made them into something.  He made them his people.  He made them the church. 

When Jesus calls us to follow him, he makes us into something that we weren’t before.  He makes us his sons and daughters.  He makes us righteous.  He makes us his.  Being a disciple is about a new identity, not about a new list of duties. 

It’s no accident that Jesus appoints, or creates, twelve men as his apostles.  He didn’t call five or ten or twenty or two hundred.  He called twelve.  Why?  Because there were twelve tribes of Israel.  Jesus chooses twelve men on purpose in order to say that he’s creating a new Israel, a new people of God.  The followers of Jesus are going to be the new Israel.

“So That They Might Be With Him”

Notice the purpose clause in verse 14 that tells us the two reasons why Jesus appointed the twelve.  Jesus chose them, first and foremost, “so that they might be with him.”  Discipleship is about relationship with Jesus.  Following Jesus is about intimacy not duty.  Many of you want to know what Jesus wants from you and fail to realize that Jesus wants to be with you. 

We were created to know and enjoy God.  “Being with” Jesus, delighting in him, rejoicing in him, taking pleasure in him, is what defines a follower of Jesus.  The mystical union we have with Christ is a result of Christ calling us.  Through faith, we’re wed to Christ.  Christians are those who’re “in Christ” and those who Christ is in.  This marriage, like any marriage, is meant to create intimacy and joy and freedom and acceptance and love and delight.  Jesus calls us to be with him, not just to do stuff for him.   

Commissioned By Jesus

The second reason why Jesus appoints the twelve is to commission them into his service (vv. 14-15).  Jesus called them to send them.  He gave them his authority to go out and preach his message and display his power.  His word must be heard in order to be believed.  And his authority over the kingdom of darkness must be revealed. 

The gospel isn’t an indescribable story that can’t be understood.  It’s the story of Jesus and it can be understood, so it must be preached.  And Jesus’ people are those who stand up against evil wherever they find it.  Jesus’ followers don’t run from darkness, they expose it and fight it and overcome it with the light of Jesus’ word.

When Jesus calls us to come to him, the “come” quickly becomes a “go.”  He calls us to himself so that he might send us out.  Those who come to him are given a mission to go into all the world and preach the gospel and make more disciples.  A “called out one” is also a “sent one.”  You were not saved by Jesus for your own sake.  You were saved to be sent.

The Last Will Be First

I want to point out one thing about the list of the twelve in verses 16-19.  Notice how many of these guys we know little to noting about.  At least half of them are basically unknown to us, apart from being part of the Twelve.  The point is that their corporate identity is more important than their individual identity.  Our identity as followers of Jesus Christ is more important than anything else.  Your Instagram or Facebook or house or job or family doesn’t ultimately define you.  Who you are in Christ is who you are.  Everything else will go away.  He will not. 

These guys who we’ve never heard of are obscure to us but have great significance in the kingdom of God.  One of Suzy’s professors, Dr. John Hannah, used to talk about “the significance of insignificance.”  Serving Christ in obscurity is a high honor because Christ is the most significant being in the universe.  To be with him and to serve him in any capacity is massively significant. 

One of our brothers in Christ died last week in the arms of his wife and one of our missionary partners.  Philip died on the side of a busy road outside a hospital that refused to treat him.  Philip didn’t write books or speak at conferences.  He didn’t have Facebook or Instagram.  He didn’t pastor a large church.  He did know and serve Jesus.  He faithfully and courageously took the gospel into all-Muslim areas and made disciples and planted churches. 

When we get to heaven, I suspect Philip, and countless millions like him, will be towards the front of the great assembly.  His faithful service in the obscure villages and towns of North India was overlooked by the world.  It was not overlooked by God.  Jesus said, “Everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.  But many who are first will be last, and the last first” (Matt. 19:29-30).    

Thank you to those in our church who serve behind the scenes.  Your hard work and faithfulness to do things that aren’t glamorous in order to bless others doesn’t go unnoticed by me, or by your Master.  There’s reward coming for all who joyfully and tirelessly labor in obscurity.  There’s great significance in insignificance.

Where Are We In This Text?

In our text, we’ve seen Jesus swarmed by great crowds yet only call a few to be with him.  We’ve seen people who wanted Jesus for what Jesus could do for them, and we’ve seen people who Jesus wanted simply because he wanted them. 

Where do you find yourself in these passages?  Are you pressing in on Jesus with the crowds, desperate to get something from him?  Or are you pressing into Jesus because you delight in Jesus and want nothing more than to be with him?  Are you around Jesus or with Jesus?

Our answer to these questions reveals if we’ve been called, created, and commissioned by Jesus.